Renowned comic writer and co-creator of iconic characters like Iron Man, Stan Lee (Stanley Martin Lieber) passed away at the age of 95. Lee's death has definitely left the world in awe, with the loss of one of the greatest story writers in history. Lee's marvelous co-creation of superheroes like Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Daredevil and the X-Men will surely not remain the same without his expertise.
Novermber 12 seemed to be a sad sad day as Stan's death hit the social media. Numerous film stars along with Lee's fans from all walks of lives were saddened by his demise, paying tribute to him and his work on Twitter. Chris Evans (Captain America) in his tweet said that Lee had left an indelible mark on so many lives, providing with adventure, joy, friendship, and inspiration to the young and old for decades.
Stan, as writer and editor of the comics, changed the very idea of comics industry with a complex emotional life to the colors of the action-adventures of all the superheroes. His team with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, revitalised the industry giving the art of comic writing a new beginning and a legacy for all others to follow.
Lee's work was art itself as he kept multiple stories running along at the same time, weaving them into a seamless fictional world where all the characters could show up and not be felt as misplaced. Stan created the Marvel Universe that not only captured pages but went on to hit the screens in a series of TV and movie adaptations as the face of a new culture of comic heroes.
Born in 1922, Stan grew up during the Great Depression, his life marked with financial issues and seeing his father struggling to find a steady job. However, Lee entered the comic industry at the age of 17, when he landed at publishing company of his relative Martin Goodman where he began writing scripts for superheroes and mystery comics.
However, things changed very fast for Lee in 1941, at the age of 19 he found himself editor-in-chief after Goodman's fall out with his editor.
During the Second World War (WW2) Stan also wrote briefly for the army, but later on dedicated his next 20 years in giving voice to a succession of caped crusaders, cowboys, and cops. As the 60's approached things changed with Lee's 'something different-something special' writing, the creation of the Fantastic Four in 1961 to 1970, a series of annuals in work that came out to be amazing and unmatched till date. Finally taking up his new role as a publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972.
In 1970's Stan published a series of books recounting his Marvel version from the early years and joined hands with Kirby the very last time to produce a graphic novel featuring the Silver Surfer.
Lee's talent was and is irreplaceable and a great loss for the comic industry as well as his fans. As the industry bloomed with his creativity and new sights targeting a wider world led him to create hundreds of Marvel superhero publications that started popping up in so many stories at the same time that the readers just had to explore the Marvel Universe, purchasing multiple series to get the whole story.
In 1990, an adaptation of Captain America hit the big screens, with Byran Singer's X-Men in 2000 as summer fixture in cinema's around the world.
Some of Lee's co-creations are Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer. Stan was remarkably good with what he did for a living and absolutely loved it.
In 2002, Stan published his autobiography 'Excelsior: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee', in which he
told his real-life story with just as much energy as in his comics. Painting his life and that of his superheroes with colors that placed the human in the super-humans everybody could relate to.Lee's work and life were truly inspirational and seem to be irreplaceable and will be missed in years to come.